A Change In Direction
by Raven.Fire84
Summary: The follow-up to my Every Day Love. Set fifth in my Together universe. Clint/Coulson, Steve/Tony, Natasha/Bruce, Thor/Jane.


**A/N- Yes, yes. I'm a horrible person and all that. I actually have two more of these that will go up as well. I've had them done for awhile, but I didn't have the ninernet, so that makes it a little hard. For my loyal readers, I do love you all for being so damn patient with me! BIG HUGE HUGS! Oh, and I have one more one-shot that I'm working on that goes in this universe. If you guys want me to keep on playing here, just let me know!**

**Rating- Ummmm... Yeah, I have no clue. As always, contains SLASH so there ya go. That's your warning**

**Disclaimer- Not mine, sadly. But I've been a very, very good girl this year, so maaaaaaaaaybe Santa will take a hint and I'll find them all in my stocking. Then, I'll immediately go on the naughty list for next year due to the things I'd have them do.**

The day that Clint and Phil Barton-Coulson made the decision that turned both of their lives in a whole new direction had started off like any other morning. It had been Steve's turn to make breakfast and he had decided that he was in the mood for French toast. As soon as he got the bread going, the rest of his team started drifting in one at a time. Phil was first, of course, followed by Clint not long afterwards. The older agent settled himself in a chair with his "Don't tase me, bro" mug that Tony had given him. Their Hawk made himself comfortable by dropping into his husband's lap and resting his head on Phil's shoulder while drinking his preferred orange juice. Natasha came in and grabbed a cup of her favorite tea and then made another cup for Bruce. Just as she finished making it, the doctor wandered in. She handed the mug to him. He stole a kiss before sitting down at the table to drink it. She perched on the arm of his chair and absentmindedly played with his rumpled curls as she sipped hers. They heard Tony before they actually saw him since he was arguing with JARVIS about some modification to his newest suit.

"No, I don't care if it throws the ratio off. Dammit, JARVIS, I need some kind of way to stop myself from falling in it. Steve will never let me live it down if I crash into the ground again because my repulsors get taken out. Besides, you never know when…"

He trailed off when he caught sight of his boyfriend cooking and made an appreciative humming sound in his throat

"J, we'll pick this up later. MMMM, good morning, Cap. May I say that you are looking positively edible yourself this morning?"

Tony wrapped his arms around Steve's waist and nibbled at the soldier's ear. Steve blushed lightly at Tony's comment. However, the ear nibbling made him close his eyes in contentment. He spun quickly, caging the genius against the counter using his body, and kissed him gently.

"Morning, Tony."

The slightly shorter man flashed the soldier a happy smile and grabbed his first cup of coffee. He sat down at the table and started antagonizing Bruce as usual. Jane strolled in, grabbed an empty cup that was sitting on the counter, and sat down before she realized her mistake. She was about to get up and fix her coffee when Thor appeared behind her. He took her mug and fixed her coffee without a word and gave it back to her. He placed a light kiss on the top of her head before sitting down.

"That is truly the most glorious smell, Friend Steve. What is it?"

Steve smiled at the demi-god

"It's called French toast. It's one of my favorites. And it's ready, so enjoy."

He set the heaping platter on the table and quickly shifted out of the way as the team fell on the food like rabid wolves. He managed to elbow in and grab his own plate before it was all gone. Clint finished his breakfast first and stretched lazily.

"Phil and I have some errands to run today. Does anyone need anything while we're out?"

Jane told him shyly that she and Thor were almost out of poptarts. And Tasha said that she had some knives that were supposed to be ready; could they pick them up for her? But everyone else shook their heads and said no, they were fine. Clint nodded in agreement.

"Okay. Poptarts, check. Nat's newest knives, check. Kiss my paperwork ninja, check."

He playfully laid a light kiss on Phil's cheek. Phil caught his Hawk's chin and gave him a proper kiss as Tony wolf-whistled just to harass the pair. The two of them stood up and left hand-in-hand. The rest of the team cleaned up the kitchen and scattered to get a start on their day.

The two agents took care of their errands, got Tasha's knives, and then stopped at their favorite diner for lunch before the poptart run. The waitress knew them by name and fussed over them. Clint teased her by saying that he'd leave Phil for her if she'd just take the afternoon off. He was snuggling against the older agent at the time, who just looked amused by the whole situation. She winked at Clint and told him that he could rest easy because she wouldn't be having the likes of him but that she'd give him a kiss and make him sorry for it. She kissed his forehead and then bussed Phil's cheek. After she left the table to put their order in, a family came in and they caught Phil's attention. The kids were somewhere around four and six, Clint thought. But then he might be wrong, he wasn't very good at guessing kids' ages. The archer watched his husband out of the corner of his eye and caught a faint look of yearning. He knew that his Phil had a big soft spot for kids but had given up on the idea of them. Their food arrived just then and they both turned their attention to eating.

After lunch, the pair went to the market to pick up Jane's favored Poptarts. As they wandered the aisles, picking up a few other things they passed a single dad who was attempting to distract his son from the candy aisle. Phil smiled a little wistfully at the father and son. But Clint stopped dead in his tracks when he was struck with an intense wave of longing at the sight. He suddenly knew exactly what he wanted. Phil looked at him with worry in his eyes.

"You okay, _mon faucon_?"

"I want one, _mon brise_."

It wasn't often that Agent Phil Coulson was completely confused and speechless about something. In fact, it had only happened a handful of times in his whole life. And every single one of those times had been caused by Clint. The first time had been when Clint had chosen to disobey orders and had brought the Black Widow in alive instead of killing her. Phil knew that Clint had great pride in the fact that he always got his target so when he decided to keep her alive, it had confused the handler. However, he quickly had realized that his Hawk had made the right call. Tasha hadn't been nearly as damaged as she should have been, given what she had been through. The next time had occurred when Clint had flirted back as Cade hit on him while the agent was being patched up after a mission. He had been bewildered since he had could have sworn that Clint was straight as one of his arrows and then he was angry that someone had been flirting with _his_ man right in front of him, dammit. The confrontation that had ensued after he had dragged Clint away from the handsome doctor and into his office had been what brought the two of them together. The third time had been when the archer was in Medical (again) for various injuries that he had gotten from jumping off a building that was getting ready to explode (again). Clint had caught Phil's hand to stop his handler from pacing the room while bitching at him for being so damn reckless and he gave Phil a crooked smile that stopped the rant. The younger man then told his lover that even though he knew the older agent could do much better than someone like him, he would never find anyone who loved him more and then asked Phil to marry him. Phil had been dazed because he had thought that Clint didn't want to get married ever. In fact, Phil hadn't even been sure that Clint believed in marriage. The last time had been after the Loki incident when Clint had chosen to move into Stark Tower with the rest of the Avengers. His Hawk had rarely played well with others before and had never voluntarily chosen to live with anyone other than his husband, not even Natasha. Phil arched an eyebrow (a habit that Clint had picked up from him) and asked him

"You want one of what?"

Clint's intense blue-grey eyes locked on Phil's startling green ones.

"I want a kid. I want a chance to have a real family with you. I think that you'd be an awesome dad and I know that you want one. Since we can't exactly let nature take its course, I think we should think about adopting one. What do you think? Do you want to make a family together?"

Phil was stunned. He had long ago resigned himself to the fact that any chance for kids was pretty slim since he wasn't attracted to women at all. Then when he and Clint had started seeing each other he had dismissed the idea completely. Clint was so damaged from his nightmarish childhood and adolescence that he knew the idea of having children frightened the shit out of the archer. He had never imagined that Clint would bring it up himself. He answered softly

"You know that I love kids, _l'amour de ma vie_, but I don't want you to do this just for me if you aren't sure. I don't want you to do something that makes you uncomfortable just to make me happy."

Clint touched Phil's cheek gently. The husbands only used French when they were feeling any emotion very strongly. It had been the first language that Phil had taught Clint after the archer had joined SHIELD, so it was very special to them. They had even chosen to go to Paris on their honeymoon that had been disguised as a solo mission.

"I've never really reckoned that I'd have or even want a family, but you and the rest of the Avengers have shown me that I can have one, _mon mari_. You've showed me that I can handle normal despite my past. I really want this. I know I'll get nervous and I'll mess up. But with you by my side, I think I could be pretty good at being a dad."

Phil's eyes softened as he cradled Clint's chin

"You'll do just fine. I love you so much, Clint. I hope you know that."

The archer caught his Austringer's hand and brushed a kiss across the fingertips.

"I do know. I love you too. More than anything. _Vous êtes le battement de mon coeur_."

Clint brought up the subject again after the team had picked a movie for their movie night. Tonight had been Bruce's choice and he had chosen _Sherlock Holmes_ because he insisted that the main actor looked exactly like Tony. Tony had scoffed and said that he was much better looking than any stupid actor. Clint waited until they were all settled in when he threw his bombshell.

"What would you guys think if Phil and I decided to adopt a kiddo?"

Six heads snapped to face him. Their looks ranged from confused (Thor) to thrilled (Tony) with everyone else falling somewhere in between the two emotions. Tasha was the first to regain her voice

"I'm sorry, I think I must have misunderstood. Did you say that you and Phil want to adopt a child? An assassin and his handler going domestic? "

Clint grinned at his best friend

"Yep."

"What about your job at SHIELD?"

The archer shrugged

"There are plenty of people at SHIELD with kids. Maybe not like us, but we can make it work."

She thought about that and admitted that was true. As long as she wasn't losing the only two people in SHIELD that she trusted to have her back then she could admit that it was the right choice for the two men. They would be magnificent fathers. Tony was beside himself.

"I think it's a great idea. We'll all be able to spoil him or her rotten and teach them things that they have no business knowing. You guys will let me design the room, right? Maybe I should skip the movie and work on some blueprints. Maybe some red and gold wallpaper…"

Phil laughed at the billionaire's excitement

"No need to skip the movie. And no red and gold, Tony. It won't be right away. We haven't even filled out the papers or anything yet. We're still in the talking-about-it stage. You guys are our friends, no not friends; you're our family. So, we wanted to know what you think before we take the next step."

Bruce gave his opinion in his usual calm way

"I think that both of you would be good fathers. Any child would be lucky to have you."

Clint smiled warmly at the scientist who could turn into a giant green rage monster at the drop of a hat but still managed to be the most soothing of all of them.

"Thank you, Doc."

Steve chimed in

"I think it's a great idea! We'll all help out with them. It'll almost be like having one of our own."

Tony grinned at the last part

"Steve…"

The super soldier cut his boyfriend off

"No, Tony. We've only been together for six months. Phil and Clint have been together for five years. They are married. Plus, I have my hands full making sure you don't work yourself into exhaustion or starve yourself to death on accident or blow yourself up playing in the lab."

The billionaire pouted

"At least think about it, Blue Eyes."

Steve nodded assent that he would give it some thought

Thor stood up and pulled the husbands up for a bone crushing hug

"This is very blessed news. We should celebrate!"

Clint refrained from rolling his eyes, but just barely

"Thor, don't get ahead of yourself. We haven't even done the paperwork yet. We might not even be approved."

The thunder god scowled

"I do not see why you would not be. Love is the most important factor in bringing up a little one. And you two have great capacity for love. There cannot be two more suitable people to raise a child."

Phil answered this one

"What Clint means is that it might be held against us that we're gay."

The demi-god frowned

"I do not understand that phrase. Neither of you is of what I'd call a jovial disposition."

Phil clarified, while trying not to give in to laughter at the Thunder God's description of him and his husband.

"Because we are two men who are married and not a husband and wife."

"That is ignorant. It should not matter who you love as long as you can give the child a good life."

The others nodded in agreement.

Jane offered quiet congratulations but asked that if they did adopt, could they keep the child away from her lab because she had very fragile models in there that were irreplaceable. The husbands quickly assured her that everyone's private spaces would be kept off limits.

They made an appointment to meet with an agent for the following week. They filled out mountains of paperwork. Even Phil, the self-admitted paperwork ninja, was starting to get a little tired of paperwork. They had about a million interviews and the agent came by Avengers Tower more than once to inspect the home environment. Finally, after what felt like half of eternity, they were finally approved.

The whole process had turned into a process decided by committee. As they went over the possibilities, the whole team had to put in an opinion. As with everything else, there wasn't very much that they all agreed on. They went through thousands of cases and finally found the child that they wanted to be part of their family.

Eight months to the day that they first filed the paperwork, Phil and Clint brought their daughter home. When the new family stepped off the elevator, the entire team plus Nick Fury were there waiting for them. Clint was holding a tiny, fairy-like three year old girl with dark hair and blue eyes.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Raeleen Starr Barton-Coulson. Rae, this is the rest of your family."

TRANSLATIONS:

mon faucon-my hawk

mon brise -my breeze

l'amour de ma vie-love of my life

mon mari-my husband

vous êtes le battement de mon Coeur- you are the beat of my heart

**A/N2- So, I hope you loved it! I did, I admit it. If you did, be sure and let me know. (cough...review...cough) My muse is a vain little wench and loves hearing from all of you!**


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